You are not going to believe some of the things that the U.S. government is spending money on. According to a shocking new report, U.S. taxpayer money is being spent to study World of Warcraft, to study how Americans find love on the Internet, and to study the behavior of male prostitutes in Vietnam. Not only that, but money from the federal government is also being used to renovate a pizzeria in Iowa and to help a library in Tennessee host video game parties. These are just some of the examples in a new report on government waste from Senator Tom Coburn entitled "Wastebook 2010". Even as tens of millions of American families find themselves suffering through the worst economic downturn in modern history, the U.S. government continues to spend money on some of the craziest and most frivolous things imaginable. Every single year articles are written and news stories are done about the horrific government waste that is taking place and yet every single year it just keeps getting worse. So just what in the world is going on here?
It almost seems as though Congress actually enjoys inventing new ways to waste U.S. taxpayer money. It seems nearly inconceivable that anyone could keep a straight face while trying to justify spending money on many of the things in the list below.
At a time when the U.S. national debt is closing in on 14 trillion dollars, government waste just seems more out of control than ever. The following are 20 of the craziest things that the U.S. government is spending money on....
#1 A total of $3 million has been granted to researchers at the University of California at Irvine so that they can play video games such as World of Warcraft. The goal of this "video game research" is reportedly to study how "emerging forms of communication, including multiplayer computer games and online virtual worlds such as World of Warcraft and Second Life can help organizations collaborate and compete more effectively in the global marketplace."
#2 The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave the University of New Hampshire $700,000 this year to study methane gas emissions from dairy cows.
#3 $615,000 was given to the University of California at Santa Cruz to digitize photos, T-shirts and concert tickets belonging to the Grateful Dead.
#4 A professor at Stanford University received $239,100 to study how Americans use the Internet to find love. So far one of the key findings of this "research" is that the Internet is a safer and more discreet way to find same-sex partners.
#5 The National Science Foundation spent $216,000 to study whether or not politicians "gain or lose support by taking ambiguous positions."
#6 The National Institutes of Health spent approximately $442,340 to study the behavior of male prostitutes in Vietnam.
#7 Approximately $1 million of U.S. taxpayer money was used to create poetry for the Little Rock, New Orleans, Milwaukee and Chicago zoos. The goal of the "poetry" is to help raise awareness on environmental issues.
#8 The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs spent $175 million during 2010 to maintain hundreds of buildings that it does not even use. This includes a pink, octagonal monkey house in the city of Dayton, Ohio.
#9 $1.8 million of U.S. taxpayer dollars went for a "museum of neon signs" in Las Vegas, Nevada.
#10 $35 million was reportedly paid out by Medicare to 118 "phantom" medical clinics that never even existed. Apparently these "phantom" medical clinics were established by a network of criminal gangs as a way to defraud the U.S. government.
#11 The Conservation Commission of Monkton, Vermont got $150,000 from the federal government to construct a "critter crossing". Thanks to U.S. government money, the lives of "thousands" of migrating salamanders are now being saved.
#12 In California, one park received $440,000 in federal funds to perform "green energy upgrades" on a building that has not been used for a decade.
#13 $440,955 was spent this past year on an office for former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert that he rarely even visits.
#14 One Tennessee library was given $5,000 in federal funds to host a series of video game parties.
#15 The U.S. Census Bureau spent $2.5 million on a television commercial during the Super Bowl that was so poorly produced that virtually nobody understood what is was trying to say.
#16 A professor at Dartmouth University received $137,530 to create a "recession-themed" video game entitled "Layoff".
#17 The National Science Foundation gave the Minnesota Zoo over $600,000 so that they could develop an online video game called "Wolfquest".
#18 A pizzeria in Iowa was given $60,000 to renovate the pizzeria's facade and give it a more "inviting feel".
#19 The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave one enterprising group of farmers $30,000 to develop a tourist-friendly database of farms that host guests for overnight "haycations". This one sounds like something that Dwight Schrute would have dreamed up.
#20 Almost unbelievably, the National Institutes of Health was given $800,000 in "stimulus funds" to study the impact of a "genital-washing program" on men in South Africa.
In light of all this, is it any wonder why the approval rating of Congress recently hit another new record low?
According to the most recent Gallup poll, only 13 percent of Americans approve of the job that Congress is doing.
Just think about that - only 13 percent!
Our politicians seem very confused about why there is so much anger in the country today. Well, there are certainly a lot of reasons for it, including the fact that the U.S. economy is on the verge of collapse, but it certainly doesn't help that our government is basically flushing our tax dollars down the toilet and spending them on some of the most wasteful things imaginable.
It would be bad enough if the federal government was swimming in money, but the truth is that all of this waste is being committed at a time when the U.S. government is nearing bankruptcy.
Over the last 30 years, the U.S. national debt has gotten 13 times larger. We have accumulated the largest debt in the history of the world and there is no end in sight.
In fact, we are rapidly running out of people to borrow money from. According to the Wall Street Journal, in order to repay maturing bonds and finance the exploding budget deficit, the U.S. government will have to borrow 4.2 trillion dollars in 2011.
Eventually the rest of the world is going to lose confidence in the ability of the U.S. government to repay all of this debt. Once confidence in U.S. Treasuries is totally gone, and there are already signs this is starting to happen, the game will be over and the U.S. financial system will collapse.
But the U.S. Congress just continues to act like it is "business as usual" and the wasteful spending just continues to get worse. Someday historians will look back and think that we must have been a nation full of idiots and morons.
For decades our politicians have been spending us into oblivion, yet we keep sending the vast majority of them back to Washington D.C. every time an election rolls around and the mainstream media keeps assuring us that our "respected leaders" know exactly what they are doing and that everything is going to be okay somehow.
It is almost as if some sort of collective insanity has overtaken most Americans. The path we are on inevitably leads to national bankruptcy and the destruction of our financial system, but only a small percentage of the population seems to care.
Well, in the end we will reap what we have sown. Unfortunately, the economic pain that is coming is going to be devastating for all of us - including those of us who are awake and are trying desperately to change things.
Wonder what they will do with extra $51 dollars to register a 10 yr old car in Az. Has anyone else seen taxes and basics climbing out of control?
Yes.You are not a lone.I too live in Arizona.It is bad and getting worse,at an alarming rate.Add “Brewer”to this mix of problems.Oh my…
Maybe this will help make the danger of fiat money clear.
Imagine you and me are setting across from each other. We create enough money to represent all of the world’s wealth. Each one of us has one SUPER Dollar in front of him.
You own half of everything and so do I.
I’m the government though. I get bribed into creating a Central Bank.
You’re not doing what I want you to be doing so I print up myself eight more SUPER Dollars to manipulate you with.
All of a sudden your SUPER Dollar only represents one tenth of the wealth of the world!
That isn’t the only thing though. You need to get busy and get to work because YOU’VE BEEN STIFFED with the bill for the money I PRINTED UP to get YOU TO DO what I WANTED.
That to me represents what has been happening to the economy, and us, and why so many of our occupations just can’t keep up with the fake money presses. They print up what ever it takes to push, and push, and push us wherever they want.
They have been beating us with our own stick.
I read your website from time to time, encouraged by the men in my family who are gloom and doom about the economy. What I find surprising is your seeming inability to make any positive, intelligent suggestions about how to begin to fix the mess. Everyting you write in your columns is over-the-top negative….as if you have completely given up. That is no way to tackle adversity. How is your ranting improving the world? Better to advocate changes and talk about people who are making the necessary changes in the way they live, eat, spend their money….in other words….adjusting to this new world…..your writing leaves me thinking you are just kooks with an axe to grind. Cheers, starlady.
Totally agree, I mean the pizza shop seems over the top. At the same time numbers weren’t just drawn out of a hat to give these funds to certain people or organizations, these people asked for it.
This is just conspiracy theorist ramblings. This list is complete utter nonesense. It was made-up, frabricated bunk by paranoid conspiracy theorist whackos trying to convince you that the World is coming to an end and it’s not. The US dollar is as strong as it ever was. It’s not going to collapse. People are in government because they know how to run a country better than you. You should not be questioning government officials who obviously know what they are doing. They wouldn’t be running the most powerful nation on the planet if they didn’t know what they were doing. Stop this Conspiracy theorist nonesense. I anxiously await the day when spreading conspiracy theories is illegal. Conspiracy Theorist = Traitor
Can you say crazy? Someone needs to lay the lsd..sit back and look at how crooked politicians are. Not all are, but most are in it like our nation’s future is a game.
WOW. Can we say Corporate shill? Or Neocon or troll, or ALL OF THE ABOVE? If you are so ‘against’ conspiracy theories, then why the hell are you READING articles like this? At least people who QUESTION things rather than take our government’s word for it are TRYING to fix the problems… simply amazing. You’ll wake up when it’s too late… when the government is at your door with guns drawn, forcing you to ‘get on the bus’ to the FEMA camps…. wow. It’s amazing how BLIND some people are…
Some conspiracy theroist’s warned of the threat that madman Hitler posed. 50,000,000+ dead
later Hitler, the squasher of conspiracy theories, was dead but too late for his victims.
Those who warn others of the threats to life are called ” Watchmen.” If the watchman warns, and the people perish, the blood of the dead is NOT on the hands of the watchman. But, if the
watchmen sleeps, and the people perish, their blood requires a consequence for the sleeper.
I am what you dismissively call a wacko.a “conspiracy theorist”. You are either a Government stooge or your cross dressing habits have challenged your ability to make rationale sense. For a citizen of this country to see and experience the collapse of our economy being approved by the majority of shameless and mentally challenged elected officials in d.c. IS TOPPED ONLY BY THE 13% of people like you that serve their masters very well…Cowards and waredrobe bettys such as yourself should be outed so their neighbors can finally know why so many friends and neighbors of your community are being detained by the law dogs you cater to for your rat dollars
This has to be one of the dumbest statements i have ever read. Its so discouraging that there are morons like you out there that actually feel this way.
LOL you guys just got trolled all sorts of hard. Can’t believe you bought what that guy wrote.
They are running the most powerful country in the world???? are you talking about CHINA.
And the world is not going to end, but the USA as you know it will. tell us all about it when we are part of the world Govt.
But the Bible does say it is all going to happen so, I hope you know JESUS CHRIST as your lord and savior because without him your future is more bleak than the world ending.
John 3:16-17
16. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, That whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Touché, T. There are none so blind as [he] who will not see.
Also not mentioned, Bailouts to Banks, Wall Street, and Back-door Bailouts to mega-corporations (ie, McD’s, to Monsanto, ADM and others).
We’re on the slippery slope and sliding so fast our pants are burning. Can we stop this craziness before we go completely off the cliff??
Maybe,maybe not.
We the people ,need to stand up,and fight.Does anyone remeber history.Sorry.History has
been re writen or taken out of the schools.The older people,need to keep on telling, their War Story’s”Keep the Trueth Of History Alive-And Fight.We the people are strong.The more people ,the Stronger We will become.
I firmly believe the government wastes lots of $. I was in the Army, I know about deliberate waste, ie. food, ammo, etc… How about the Judgement Fund that reimburses environmental activist groups for the funds they spend sueing the federal/state government, and hard working farmers/ranchers; billions over the last decade. The farmers/ranchers flip their own bills. No conspiracy theories here oh blind one.
iHateConspiracyTheorists: This person is a nut case. “The US dollar is as strong as it ever was. It’s not going to collapse. People are in government because they know how to run a country better than you. You should not be questioning government officials who obviously know what they are doing.”
This person must be Obama, Pelosi or Reed. “Obviously know what they’re doing?” Holy Crap. I can’t even imagine how uninformed or stupid this person appears to be.
Blago “obviously” knew what he was doing and just got 14 years. Oh yea, he was convicted because of a conspiracy. How does this person account for an average congressional approval rating of 12%, while CBS polls ended up at 11%. Another conspiracy?
My Xmas lights remind me of all the people that voted for Obama. Half of them don’t work, and the other half aren’t very bright.
Happy Holidays!!!
What is work to them _the goverment?We work ,the goverment takes.Each year more and more is taken,We the people have less and less.
We tax payers are still paying xgovemnet officals ,money.Our hard earned money,that the goverment takes from us ,Calling it taxes.
Does no one on this site have a sarcasm detector?
Correction: Someday historians will look back and KNOW we were a nation full of idiots and morons. What will dispute that fact?
Thank god for the light
HISTORY already occurred, think Nazi Germany or
impearlist Japan. Remember, 50-70,000,000 dead
in WWII– only 65+ years ago–we are again on
the prefacice of global war. The weapons are
greater–many nations have weapons of mass
destruction. China, Russia, India, Pakistan,
France, Britain, israel and Iran threatens to
wipe peace seeking Israel from the map with the help of Russia, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Hamas,
a now hostile Egypt led by the Muslim Bro Hood.
Pray, repent, be scripturally baptised–serve God. As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, those who lead thee cause ye to err, and destry the way of thy paths. Isaiah 3:12
The really bad news is: these are the small scratches on the surface! Congress has their hands in the till as the banksters do, to get “commissions” from their wasteful policies; their spending sprees are conspicuous symtoms of their intentions. And what about the endless wars in the names of “defense” and “security”?? Meanwhile the two party system is mostly about which side gets more of the proceeds.
This is one of the worst articles I have ever read. The “examples” of waste include environmental conservation (salamanders), American History (Neon Sign Museum), New media (WoW research) etc. And the dollar amounts minuscule. the only true tragedy is the government being scammed out of 35 million through fraud and here is the story. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/14/nyregion/14fraud.html
use some judgement as to what the hell is important!
Ok, now my sarcasm detector must be busted. Tell me you’re kidding before I blow a gasket.
Our Government at its best at stealing. Does people not know who Harry Reid is or Nancy Polosi ? Did they not know Chis Dodd or Barney Franks? I do believe that these people would steal your t.v. as you was watching it, and look you straight in the eye and say they never saw it. Thanks Jesse Lyles in Arkansas
Peace seeking Israel?? Oh, please…..I have suggestion, maybe when the US stop all its effort to support Israel and help the oppressed Palestinians for once i think all US problems will be solved
I cant read Email SEE my comments on you tube @ CLaNZeR = mike peine This is FREE information on how to build your own FREE ENERGY DEVICE with step by step video’s instructions. you will see a man trying to get a device to work and fails. my comments are 2 ways inwhich the device WORKS ! once you build your own device in toy size(cost about $20 usd from parts you buy from your local hobby shop use ceramic magnets ) you will prove to yourself that perpetual motion works and that we have NOT ! needed fuel since 1969.
the place is nowhere
america is gonski
Nothing is said about the huge sums given to foreign nations, like building mosques to make the arabs like us.
And after all of that I think in the last year alone BHO has arbitrarily given away over 60 billon dollars to enemies of the US or to socialist government owned companies to compete with us. Congress has not even mentioned this, let alone tried to stop any of it.
A million here . . .a million there . . .
Its only millions
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